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Monday, July 19, 2010

Yellow Moon (Snowskin Mooncake) @ Chynna, Hilton Kuala Lumpur

inspired by Teresa Teng's popular song, "Moon Represents My Heart"

I'm getting an early start on mooncakes this year round especially since the hotels and shops have started selling them already. My gut feeling that this early start for the festivities is somewhat tied with the declining economy (mooncakes has always been traditionally a great profit earner). Things are definitely not looking rosy, as I was down town last Saturday and it felt more like a ghost town rather than a bustling city centre. From what I understand, this is partly due to the closure of Puduraya for renovations and also in reaction to the petrol hike. Nevertheless, it was still an eerie feeling with empty streets that reminded me more of the Chinese New Year exodus.

On to this year's offering from Hilton Kuala Lumpur's Chynna, a pale yellow snowskin mooncake called Yellow Moon. Every year, the restaurant offers unique pairings for their snowskin mooncakes - a little alcohol and a Western twist to the Eastern favourite. This year, the Yellow Moon is a snowskin mooncake that is wrapped around a Martell brandy flavoured lotus paste with a violet flower essence and Martell brandy chocolate center. The top of the pale yellow snowskin has a light gold dusting.

While the flavours (violet and brandy) are not very evident, I loved the silky smooth texture of the whole ensemble including the chocolate, something that can tend to be hard vs smooth. My memories of last year's mooncakes from Chynna are a little hazy but I didn't enjoy them as much as this one. Maybe it could be that this one is super fresh or they have tweaked their formula. They are still selling the previous year's varieties - the Red Lantern that I felt was too cloying, the Blue Moon, the Baileys snow skin but not the golden Tiramisu one. Prices have definitely gone up as now (my old worksheet says it was RM13.65 with taxes last year), the Yellow Moon is RM16++ and the other varieties are RM15++.This year's box (when you buy loads) is in the form of nifty looking wooden shelves that can act as a stationery supply box once you're done with the mooncakes. The Yellow Moon is inspired by Teresa Teng's "Moon Represents My Heart" song, which is also the title of Hilton Kuala Lumpur's Dama Orchestra concert. The concert will be held on 20 and 21 September (21 Sept is sold out) to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the late Teresa Teng. If you want to get the recipe for the mooncake, the Chynna Restaurant shares it in their F&B guide booklet and they even play a video of the dim sum chef making the mooncakes at the lobby where they sell the mooncakes.

It'll be interesting to check out the other flavours in town. One evident trend that I'm seeing for the mooncakes is the use of black charcoal powder in the baked variety. I'm curious to try that to determine how it affects the texture of the skin or whether it is just a cosmetic or visual change. Wait and see as I'll try and find the answer to my queries.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

i agree about the declining economy bit! now a days that backpacker's strip is really deserted and the normal hangout joints are growing cobwebs! I don't know how those "chut-keok" places survive on the weekends i tell ya. anyway, Martel center sounds divine.. am really glad that the moon-cake festival is just round the corner and that I can have my double yolk again soon:)

I noticed a few restaurants were selling it already. It is rather early isn't it? I'm not a big fan of traditional mooncake so I'm quite happy to try all the more exciting ones. I do like the ones at Hilton. Will make sure to get some.

I've never seen this type of mooncake (lovely photo by the way), but it looks delicious. I eat mooncakes every week. They even sell them at my local Carrefour here in Thailand - don't know what I'd do if I ever lived somewhere where I couldn't get them :)